At the start of the Russian re-invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the coastal city of Mariupol seemed doomed by its geography on the Sea of Azov. Occupying Mariupol would help enable Russia to create a critical land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula. Under Putin’s orders, a quiet urban Ukrainian landscape became a war zone in a matter of hours, and then for days that stretched into months. No one was safe, and there was no way of knowing what strategy would offer protection to individuals, or to the country. Conditions akin to World War II quickly developed, with the resistance shown by citizens of Mariupol, and other besieged Ukrainians fighting similar attacks, lauded. Chronicling the early days of this modern geopolitical nightmare, Don Brown recounts the heroism and horrors of 83 days in Mariupol with his signature journalistic lens and stark illustrations in graphic novel format. (Age 12 and older)